Bison Women's Swimming & Diving Through the Decades, Presented by Geisinger

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- In May 1973, the Bucknell University Board of Trustees formally recognized and funded several of the school's competitive women's sports as varsity intercollegiate programs. Swimming and diving was one of the original women's sports to be so recognized. Prior to that announcement, a very competitive club team was already in place. In 1972-73, the club posted a 5-1 dual-meet record, with the only loss a close one to Penn State, and the squad finished fifth out of 25 teams at the Eastern Championships.

Coach Kofie Montgomery brought back a number of seasoned swimmers, including future Hall-of-Famer Sue Mestier, for Bucknell's first varsity season in 1972-73, and the Bison went 5-3 and again finished fifth at Easterns. The Bucknell women's swimming and diving program was just taking flight.

For several years, the program sent competitors to the AIAW Small College National Championships and produced a number of All-Americans, most notably Hall-of-Famer Kathy Frazier. The Williamsport native won 17 All-America citations between 1979-82, including four straight in the 50-yard butterfly.

In 1982-83, Bucknell joined a conference for the first time and also welcomed a young coach named Lynn Comer, who was perhaps best known at the time as a member of the U.S. National Water Polo Team. The Bison finished fifth at their first East Coast Conference Championships in 1983, but just four years later the program captured its very first league championship. Comer, who later became Lynn Kachmarik, eventually coached four different sports at Bucknell and is now in the Athletics Hall of Fame.

The Patriot League was formed in 1990-91, and Bucknell finished second in each of the first three Patriot League Championships. The first PL title came in 2002-03 under head coach Jerry Foley, and that championship came in the very first league meet ever held in the brand new Kinney Natatorium. The Bison enjoyed that winning feeling so much, they won three more in succession in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Current head coach Dan Schinnerer came to Bucknell in 2006-07 and has produced a stellar 85-47-1 dual record in his 14 seasons. The 2019-20 season was a terrific one, as the Bison posted a 10-1 dual record and finished second at the Patriot League Championships at Navy.

Over the next five days we will chat with many of the swimmers and divers who have helped shape the program's history. Special thanks to Geisinger for sponsoring the series.

1970s

We wrap up our "Through the Decades" retrospective with a glance back to the 1970s, the decade when it all began! Six great alumnae joined us for this fun look back to the early days of the women's swimming & diving program, including Hall-of-Famers Sue Mestier '74 and Cathy Karpuk '77, as well as Lois Guy '76, Chris Peterjohn '76, Jamie Rudy '76 and Susan Rudy '78. Mestier was the captain of Bucknell's first varsity team in 1973-74. She graduated with school records in the 100, 200 and 400-yard freestyle events, and the 100-yard butterfly. She placed 10th in the 200 free at the National Championships and swam on a 400 free relay team that finished seventh. Led by Mestier, Bucknell's first-ever varsity team finished fifth at the Eastern Championships and placed 18th of 75 teams at nationals. Guy was a two-year captain who left with school records in five individual events encompassing the back, free and fly strokes, and she added two more records on relays. Peterjohn was part of the 200 medley relay quartet that finished eighth at the 1973 National Championships. She graduated with the school record in the 50 fly and two more school marks with relays. Jamie Rudy captained the 1975-76 team and was part of the 200 medley relay team that finished eighth at nationals in 1973. She was part of three school-record relay units. Karpuk is one of the top divers in school history. A team captain as a senior, she placed fifth in the 3-meter dive and sixth in the 1-meter event at the 1977 national meet, earning her All-America honors in both. In doing so, she became the first female athlete at Bucknell to receive All-America recognition. Susan Rudy capained the 1976-77 team.

1980s

The 1980s marked a transformative era for the women's varsity swimming and diving program. Under head coach Joel Feldmann, the Bison began the decade dominating dual-meet competition while sending multiple competitors to the AIAW Small College Nationals. When Lynn Comer took over as head coach in 1982-83, the Bison joined the East Coast Conference and experienced a step up in competition level. The Bison finished fifth at the very first ECC Championships, hosted by Drexel. They moved up to third in 1984, followed by a pair of runner-up finishes, and then the program's very first conference championship in 1987. It was Bucknell's very first women's conference championship in a sport other than cross country, and to do so the Bison dethroned four-time defending champion Drexel in the Dragons' home pool. Kathy Lynch was one of the stars of that championship team, and she is one of the five alumnae joining us for today's chat along with fellow Hall-of-Famer Kathy Frazier '82, Suzie Knight '87, Karen Oliver '88 and Cheryl Trepp '88. Frazier, a Williamsport native, is one of the most dominant women swimmers in Bucknell history. She is one of two three-year team captains in team history, and she produced an 84-5 dual-meet record and eight school records. Frazier was also a 17-time All-American -- 14 individual and three relays -- at the AIAW Small College Nationals. Frazier was a Christy Mathewson Award winner as the top athlete in her class, and she was a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer in 1987. Knight was an ECC individual champion in the 50 freestyle in both 1984 and 1985. Her husband, Peter Edelman '85 was also a Bucknell swimmer, as was their daughter Caroline Edelman '18. Lynch captured eight career ECC gold medals, including three each in the 100 and 200 backstrokes. She departed with 10 school records and two ECC records, and she was also a two-time ECC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Lynch was also a Mathewson Award winner and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998. Oliver won a pair of ECC gold medals with the 800 free relay in 1985 and 1987. Trepp captured league titles in the 500 free, 1,650 free and 800 free relay as a freshman, but unfortuntely her career was cut short due to a shoulder injury in her sophomore campaign.

1990s

Lynn Kachmarik recruited some big-time swimmers in the decade of the '90s, just as the program was transitioning from the East Coast Conference to the Patriot League. The Bison finished second in the league in three of the first four years of PL competition, and the team produced a stellar 79-25 dual-meet record in the decade. Join us for a fun look back at the '90s with six women who set Freas-Rooke Pool ablaze: Kelly Appler '91, Margaret Grunow '93, Kathleen Hartnett '94, Allyson Gillespie '96, Jennifer Myers '98 and Kate Wood '00. Appler won conference titles in both the ECC and Patriot League. She was the ECC champion in the 100 breaststroke in 1989, and then she was part of the winning 200 medley relay at the inaugural Patriot League Championships in 1991. Grunow is one of the finest swimmers in school history, and she was inducted into the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004. A two-year team captain, Grunow won a school-record 88 career individual races and was never beaten in a regular-season 50 or 100 free event. As a junior and senior, she was 49-0 with six Patriot League gold medals and an Eastern Seaboard championship. She graduated with 21 career conference titles, 12 individual and nine more in relays, and the was the Patriot League Swimmer of the Meet in both 1992 and 1993. Grunow, who graduated with six school records and five Freas-Rooke Pool records, won the Christy Mathewson Award as the top senior athlete in her class. Hartnett captured a pair of Patriot League titles in the 200 backstroke, another in the 100 back, and 13 more with relay units. She won gold with the 200 free and 200 medley relays all four years. Gillespie was the 1996 Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and she earned five Patriot League gold medals on relays. Myers was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008 after a stellar career that saw her win 35 of 36 backstroke races. She won eight individual conference titles, which was a league record at the time, and she became the first swimmer in PL history to win the same individual event all four years (200 back). As a freshman in 1995, Myers won both backstrokes and the 200 IM en route to Co-Swimmer of the Meet honors. Also a Christy Mathewson Award winner, she graduated as the school record-holder in the 200 back and 200 IM. Wood won the Patriot League gold medal in the 400 IM in 1997, and she was a four-time All-Patriot League honoree.

2000s

The 2000s were a banner decade -- literally -- for the Bison women's swimming and diving team. As mentioned above, Bucknell rattled off four straight Patriot League championships from 2003-06 in the first four years of competition in Kinney Natatorium. In the first two of those seasons, the Bison also posted the only two unbeaten dual-meet records in team history. The team also collected three runner-up and two third-place finishes in the decade. In order to achieve that level of team success, having some standout individuals is a must, and we are very pleased to have eight standouts from this era on today's chat: Molly Lowe '01, Meghan Freese '04, Daniela Faas '05, Jackie Feinthel '05, Jamie Flick '05, Lectie Altman '06, Becca Scheffter '07, and Courtney Warren '10. Lowe is one of the most versatile swimmers in team history. She swam every contestable event except the mile -- 13 in all -- and she won the Patriot League title in the 400 IM in 1999. Lowe was a four-time All-Patriot League selection and was a Christy Mathewson Award winner as a senior. Freese was inducted into the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016 after a stellar career that saw her win eight Patriot League gold medals, five in individual events and three in relays. Freese was a three-time champion in the 50 free and two-time winner in the 100 free, and she graduated with the school records in both sprint events. Her 50 free time still ranks second to Molly Goebel, by two-hundredths of a second. Faas starred in the distance events at Bucknell. A four-time all-league honoree, she won Patriot League titles in the 1,650 free in 2002 and the 400 IM in 2004, and she left with the school records in the 1,000 and 1,650. Feinthel was the Patriot League 200 butterfly champion in 2004, and she was a three-time all-conference honoree. Flick graduated as the top breaststroker in school history. She set school records in both the 100 and 200 breast events, and she won Patriot League gold medals in both in 2003. Flick was also a member of five PL championship-winning relay units. Altman, a 2017 Hall of Fame inductee, was part of that great 2006 senior class that won Patriot League team titles all four years. Altman was a 10-time Patriot League champion, winning five individual golds and five more on relays. She was a four-time First Team All-Patriot League honoree who captured three of her gold medals in the 200 backstroke, and she graduated with school records in the 100 and 200 back, the 200 free, and the 200 and 400 medley relays. Scheffter was the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2005, she was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection in 2006, and she was a three-time all-Patriot League swimmer. At the time of her graduation she ranked third in school history in the 100 free, behind only Hall-of-Famers Freese and Margaret Grunow. Warren broke Altman's five-year-old school record in the 100 back, and she was a two-time ECAC champion in that event. A four-time All-Patriot League honoree, Warren competed at the World Championship trials in Indianapolis in 2009, and she was the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year in her sport as a senior.

2010s
We start the series by welcoming back six top student-athletes from the decade of the 2010s. Joining us are Molly Goebel '11, Kelly Pontecorvo '14, Tara Boyle '15, Emma Levandoski '16, Diana Hanson '17 and Caroline Edelman '18. Goebel broke Hall-of-Famer Meghan Freese's school record in the 50 free in 2009, and that record still stands today. In fact, it is the oldest swimming mark on the Bucknell record board. Goebel, who won the Patriot League title in the 50 free as a senior, was a two-time First Team All-Patriot League swimmer and was also an Academic All-Patriot League selection. Pontecorvo still holds the school records in the 1,000 and 1,650 free, both set during the mile swim at the 2013 Patriot League Championships at Kinney Natatorium. She was a four-time All-Patriot League selection and two-time Academic All-Patriot League honoree. Pontecorvo won the Patriot League title in the 1,650 in 2013 and an ECAC title in the 500 free as a senior. Boyle won three straight Patriot League diving gold medals in the 1-meter event in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In that latter year, she was named the Patriot League Diver of the Meet. She was a four-time All-Patriot League honoree, including three times on the First Team, and was also a three-time Academic All-Patriot League Team member. Boyle remains the school record-holder on the 1-meter board. Bucknell has had a number of terrific backstrokers through the years, none better than Levendoski. She never lost a backstroke race at the Patriot League Championships, becoming the first swimmer in league history to win both the 100 and 200 all four years. Levendoski still holds the school records in both events by wide margins, and as a junior she became the first in program history to compete at the NCAA Championships when she earned a spot in both backstroke events. She was later named the Christy Mathewson Award winner as the top athlete in her class. Hanson remains the school record-holder in the 100 breaststroke. She won the Patriot League title in that event in 2015 and was a two-time First Team All-Patriot League selection. Edelman, whose parents Peter '85 and Susie '87 were also Bucknell swimmers, helped the 200 and 400 freestyle relay units break school records during her time in Orange & Blue.

Bucknell University Athletics

Bison Women's Swimming & Diving Through the Decades, Presented by Geisinger

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